


Refuse to Forget

by KSTodd



Series: Donna [1]
Category: Doctor Who
Genre: Awesome Donna Noble, Canon Divergence, Donna Noble Fix-It, Gen, Mentioned The Doctor/The Doctor's TARDIS
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-20
Updated: 2019-02-20
Packaged: 2019-11-01 10:37:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,047
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17865662
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KSTodd/pseuds/KSTodd
Summary: A different take on the Doctor-Donna ending.





	Refuse to Forget

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by the messed up resolution of Donna's arc, where the Doctor doesn't even wait for her to accept before wiping her memories. Needs editing but putting it up will hopefully motivate the rest.

“There’s never been a human timelord meta crisis before now.” The Doctor said grimly. “And you know why.”

“Because there _can’t_ be.” Donna’s eyebrow lifted in defiance at inevitability.

She moved around to the pion regulating lever, and said in a rush “I want to stay.”

“Look at me.”

Donna kept her head turned away.

“ _Donna_ , look at me.”

Donna turned and faced the Doctor squarely. “I was gonna be with you. Forever.”

“I know.”

“Rest of my life. Travelling. In the TARDIS.” She tilted her head beseechingly. “The Doctor-Donna.”

Both their eyes gleamed with unshed tears.

 

Donna’s head lifted and she said suddenly “Wait.” She turned slightly, her entire demeanour altered, blinking through tears as though trying to work something out.

The Doctor looked resigned, advancing on Donna, her words unheeded.

“No, listen,” she said, then as the Doctor continued to advance, his face sad, “I’m serious, **wait**.”

“Donna you know what has to be done.” He said quietly.

“No, Doctor, _you_ know what you _think_ has to be done.That was the first brain conflict, we’ve got a little while.” She laughed, the sound ringing out in the still air. “Still haven’t worked it out yet, spaceman? Guess that’s one-nil to human ingenuity.”

The Doctor still looked grim, but curiosity and scepticism began to light up his face.

“What’s the idea then?”

“Remember L’Kana? The engineer and the swans?”

“You think..? Oh, but that’ll never work.” The Doctor’s rising tone and flickering eyes belied his words. “How would we even..?”

“It’s tricky but I knew a great woman who worked in the chippy near where we lived when I was younger. She was _obsessed_ with vintage clockwork, god knows why, but she always went off on one about it whenever she saw Gramps’ watch and took forever to get the chips. And,” she continued, her body swaying to emphasise the point “she never put enough vinegar on them. Anyway, point was, when we went to the Intergalactic Marketplace few weeks ago and I wandered off, I saw this stall owner who had all these strange clockwork thingys, and I wanted to find out about them, and then I had to hide under their table when the Illurians went by-“

“You said you didn’t see any Illurians!” interrupted the Doctor indignantly, but now thoroughly invested in wherever this was going.

“Yeah, well, I lied. We had enough on our hands. _Anyway,_ we got to chatting, think they spoke Dahani in retrospect, wow the telepathic circuits in this beauty really are a marvel,” she paused to stroke the console gently. The Doctor grabbed her hand away from the panel.

“Oi, hands off! She’s mine.”

“We’ll see.” Donna smirked, then continued as the Doctor crooned under his breath ‘i’ll keep the nasty human away from you, yes I will, don’t you worry’, “ _Anyway_ , as I was saying, chatting with the stall owner about wares, remember this weird blue thing, looking back, pretty sure it was a-”

The Doctor’s head shot up, and they intoned in reverent union “Ultimate Tegmark Level V Compressor.”

“That would enable us to remove enough and synthesise the rest. Oh yes, you're right, that’d definitely work. I can’t believe you found _that_ in the _Intergalactic Marketplace_! It’s tiny.”

“I know.”

“And primarily manned by reptilian lifeforms with limited space travel.

“I know.”

“And the last time a … **Level V Compressor** -”

“I know!”

“And you didn’t even tell me!! It might not even be there anymore. Some idiot who liked the pretty lights might have-” The Doctor broke off, as though saying it would make tragedy more likely.

“Well, little bit a credit here please, I didn’t know what it was at the time, and I do know where it is, and even when it got there. We’re in a blimmin’ time machine.” She regarded the TARDIS fondly and it began to wheeze softly.

“Oi - none of that - don’t you dare even,” he said sternly, shaking a finger at Donna before turning, “And what exactly do _you_ think you’re doing, old girl? First half intelligent ape manages to give you a compliment and it gets your gears whirring?” He tapered off, jealousy scrawled across his face.

 

“Ha, might have a bit a competition in future, Doctor.”

“No, no, no, none of that.”

“Just saying.”

“Well, you can just _not_.”

The mock fighting dissipated the last of the dreadful tension. But then Donna stopped, a spasm of pain crossing her face. The Doctor started towards her, and she stepped away and said quietly

“I just need you to promise one thing, Doctor.”

“What?”

“Keep your fucking mind wiping fingers away from my memories.” Her vehemence made the words like blows, and the Doctor flinched minutely, before clearing his throat.

She looked at him, “There’s a stasis cabinet if needed, you know the one, down from the swimming pool and next to the umbrella stand.”

The Doctor nodded gently.

She continued “If it gets to much, I can go in there. But don’t you dare,don’t you even **dare** , do anything to my memories without my choice.”  
He opened his mouth but she wasn’t finished “No, don’t say anything straight away. I want to know that you know what you’re promising. You can’t tamper at all - not the littlest bit. I can feel all those great heroic command instincts you’ve got clogging up you head now, remember? They’re in me too.” She paused, then added “Just. Just know that I’m owed a choice, and if I say I’d prefer to die, if that’s what I want, you have to give it-”

The Doctor was shaking his head, “I can’t promise that. I’m not-”

“No, shut up! It’s my right. If you try to go against me, _Time Lord_ , we’ll see who wins.” Her face contorted with hostility, parts of Doctor’s self-hatred meshing with her own determination. She continued more levelly “But that’s not what I want. I want you to promise you’ll respect my rights as a person.”

The Doctor sighed softly, and then replied solemnly, “I will. Donna Noble, I promise I will not act without your consent.”

Donna nodded decisively, then said “Well, off to the Intergalactic Market it is, then.” Twiddling a dial, she grabbed a lever and then shouted aloud jubilantly “Allonsy, spaceman!”


End file.
